What on earth have I bought this time?

Well, as expected the Rover 800 - which remains the best car I have ever owned for a two month period - made a suitably underwhelming sum of £150 at auction.
It may well be broken for its beautifully functioning engine and gearbox, even though it will run for many a year yet. It may even have continued covering 1500 miles every few days, as it has been managing with me recently.

Well, as expected the Rover 800 - which remains the best car I have ever owned for a two month period - made a suitably underwhelming sum of £150 at auction.

It may well be broken for its beautifully functioning engine and gearbox, even though it will run for many a year yet. It may even have continued covering 1500 miles every few days, as it has been managing with me recently.

A motor industry expert told me not to be upset, saying that it still made 150 per cent of an official car price guide valuation, but really it should have been stuck on an online auction site.

Anyway, after getting a lift to the centre of London, where I don’t actually live, I then had to get myself a new car in order to get myself back to where I do actually reside.

It was either that or get a train, which I really could not face late on a Wednesday evening or early on a Thursday morning.

Luckily, I had some overnight accommodation organised and I’d laid some automotive groundwork for the following day. This involved a one-way tube journey and a walk of a few miles, but it was worth it. Waiting for me was a….

Fourth-generation Mazda 3 strikes back at Focus and Golf with an upmarket...

Oops, nearly gave the game away there!

Suffice to say that a good friend had a part-exchange that he was happy to let me have. All you have to do is guess what the vehicle is and I will send the prize, a copy of The British Car Industry: Our Part in its Downfall, written by me.

I am sure all of you already have this fine book, but it will make a wonderful present for a loved one (or perhaps a member of your family who has irritated you this year).

Any clue I give will be too much, but as a starter it was built in the same year as my dear old Rover 800 Sterling. It’s just in slightly better nick.

Oh yes, and I would like the model, engine size and - in the event of a tie-break situation - the extra item of specification ordered new that makes it faintly ridiculous.